


Vertigo

by teruteruboozu



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Gladnis, M/M, Spoilers, World of Ruin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-09
Updated: 2018-01-09
Packaged: 2019-03-02 13:40:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13319337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teruteruboozu/pseuds/teruteruboozu
Summary: In a world where there is no balance between the darkness and the light, Gladio and Ignis seek each other for stability.





	Vertigo

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kwehlous](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kwehlous/gifts).



> Written as a Secret Santa gift.

It was the first anniversary of the day that Noctis had disappeared. Gladio, Prompto, and Ignis had taken the unexplained loss of Noctis hard, and the pain wasn’t something that was comparable to anything else; especially when none of them knew for certain if he was going to return. Gladio had let the people of Lestallum and everywhere else that had light assume that he was only missing, that he could be found…the idea had been Ignis’ suggestion, in an effort to foster hope as the light dwindled. A year was a long time, but Gladio knew from interactions with the townspeople that they still believed that Noctis would come back, and he couldn’t stop himself from feeling the same way. Their weapons and the still-existing magic in the potions were like a silent promise, and Gladio wasn’t going to buy the thought that the Astrals had given them the power, similar to the Kingsglaive.

Ever since Noctis had been a kid, Gladio had teamed up with Ignis to take care of him, and the powers of the line of Lucis had always been at their sides, eventually including Prompto. Gladio had watched as Noctis transformed from a gangly kid to a man and had taught him everything he knew about protecting himself and fighting with every weapon under the sun. Ignis had been the one to foster Noctis’ growth on the inside, not allowing him to lose the softness inside of him that would take care of cats and lie for a girl that he didn’t even know. He’d even taught Noctis how to use elemental magic as a youth, working it into combat practice. As a result, Gladio knew Noctis’ power from the insides of his bones, and he wouldn’t let the feeling or hope go.

Everyone needed a direction, and there was no King or leader to dictate their next steps, the hole that Noctis had left refusing to heal over. So, Gladio had decided that he was going to keep moving - for all three of them, Iris, and for Noct. It was all he could do when they didn’t have anything left. He had found a home for all of them, paid up the rent in whatever supplies he could scrounge up with Prompto at his side, gotten them beds and furniture and clean sheets and pillows. The apartment had become somewhere that all of them could rest their heads and recoup, and if Gladio hadn’t felt as if his ribcage along with all its assorted organs inside hadn’t been ripped out by his regret over not being able to protect Noctis, he would have relaxed.

Ignis had nothing else but his love for them without his sight, but Gladio refused to let him sit in the darkness without help. Cooking was getting better, and Gladio didn’t leave him on his own to navigate the sharp knives and utensils. Everything in the kitchen had its place, a label that Gladio scrawled out for anyone who decided to help, from the refrigerator to the way spices were organized in a cabinet. He’d found books to learn braille from the depths of the wreckage in Insomnia, and when those were finished and he’d had a chance himself, he made labels in braille (and gotten Prom to help) and brought him books that he could navigate on his own. He’d always known that Ignis wasn’t particularly fond of cooking when it came down to it, but he knew that it was a language that he could speak whenever he couldn’t provide words.

On that day, 365 days after they had lost their liege, Ignis was working on Tenebraean tarts, and Gladio was systematically cleaning the dishes as he was finished. Gladio was pretty sure he’d nailed the recipe ages before, but he knew that it was meaningful between both Iggy and Noct, so he never questioned it; never had to. “…you trying to put out a treat for Noct to try to lure him home?” he teased gently as he put a measuring cup into the dish rack.

A ghost of a smile started on Ignis’ face as he put the pan into the oven carefully, oven mitts covering his hands just in case. “If it were that easy, certainly,” he said, his tone fondly gentle as he shut the door. He navigated himself with certain steps over to the kitchen table, finding the chair that he’d settled his coffee in front of. Once Gladio finished with the dishes, he made his way over to join him, opening up a book he’d scrounged up to resume reading. Ignis picked up his cup and took a deep sip before he drew one of the books that Gladio had brought in front of him, opening it up and putting his fingers on the pages, but not moving. Gladio had noticed that Ignis sometimes did things to make other people comfortable in his disability, as if he somehow sensed that people were uncomfortable with him watching them with sightless eyes. “Prompto out for a hunt?”

“Something like that,” Gladio said, and Ignis gave an answering hum of acknowledgment. “He said he wouldn’t be back until later. Probably just coping.”

“Interesting that he would choose to on his own,” Ignis observed. “Not that I would be of much help at this point, and it isn’t a good day to start trying.”

The silence that lingered between them was comfortable, _warm_ , like it had always been, and as the buttery, crispy scent of the tarts filled the kitchen minute by minute, Gladio allowed himself to study Ignis, even if it felt rude and even if he couldn’t see him watching. His hair was beginning to grow back out from the last time that Gladio had cut it, but part of him wanted to see how it would fare if he just let it go. They were a long way from what had been home, a long way from anything that they had considered normal, and Gladio wasn’t sure if he would ever get comfortable with how strange it was. He’d seen Ignis when he was younger, had sparred with him nearly every day, caught by the sparkle in his green eyes and the sweat that glistened off of his skin. Being physical with Ignis back then had been easy, their sparring lending itself easily to physical engagement in bed, but they’d kept it subtle - discreet - so that there were no rumors and nothing to get in the way of their aiding Noctis. Now, Ignis’ eyes were murky mint, and the only time he saw Ignis outside of his normal dress shirt was when he did his private exercises in the morning. His long-existing confidence had drained from his posture in a desperate need to accommodate his disability, especially when he had lost someone he deeply cared about, and Gladio had respectfully done his best to support him, not wanting to push Ignis further than he was able to handle.

“…so uhh,” Gladio began, as he attempted to ascertain the best way to approach the topic. A beat of silence passed between them, and Ignis’ gaze didn’t leave the page. “Prom and Iris are probably gone for the day. Got plenty of time to ourselves.”

The moment froze for a split-second, and Ignis rubbed the edge of the page between his fingertips.“…if you’re intimating what I think you are, it may be in poor taste,” he murmured.

“…I just know that we won’t have a chance until who knows when,” Gladio admitted, “and y’know, I’m not exactly into just…finding anyone anymore.”

“Charming of you,” Ignis teased, though his voice held no malice or resentment. “Glad to know that I’m the last resort.”

“You know that isn’t the reason,” Gladio sighed, as he shut his book. “There’s…no one else that would understand. Or get it.”

Ignis breathed out a long sigh, and he finished his coffee before he put his hands on the table. Gladio hesitated before he reached out and took them, the warm color of his skin a sharp contrast to Ignis’ porcelain pale. “…are you certain that you even want to, considering…?”

“…hey,” Gladio said simply, squeezing Ignis’ hands in his grasp. “You did a good thing, and even then…I could never think you’re unattractive.”

Relief was in Ignis’ posturing as if doubts had been weighing upon his shoulders. “…let the tarts finish up first - they shouldn’t have long left,” he acquiesced, without letting go. Gladio eased up the grasp of one of his hands so he could stand up, and he stepped over to Ignis’ side, drawing him up and out of his chair. Nudging their noses together briefly in warning so that Ignis wouldn’t be startled, Gladio leaned in to kiss him with a brief, testing softness, the warm scent of him going straight to Gladio’s bones. Ignis chased after him for more, this time with an insistent, permitting firmness, their first few kisses slightly awkward after so long. Familiarity rapidly stole the awkwardness away, their breath entwining and the taste of coffee in Gladio’s mouth as their tongues slicked together, gentle moans escaping them at the pure, simple intimacy, something that had been missing between them for what felt like ages. Rubbing his hands up Ignis’ back, Gladio gathered Ignis up in his arms and held him so firmly that Ignis had to make a protesting sound to get him to loosen up, laughing at Gladio’s quick apology.

When the oven alarm went off a good ten minutes after they’d started, Ignis startled a little, beginning to step towards the oven. Gladio put his hands on Ignis’ hips to make him stop moving, his grasp firm and gentle. “Lemme get that,” Gladio said, and he squeezed Ignis in his arms for a split-second before he stepped away, making quick use of the oven mitts to pull the pan out, sliding the still metal-encased tarts onto the cooling rack carefully before he turned the oven off. Putting the pan in the sink and putting the oven mitts in its appropriate place, Gladio stepped back to the table. “Think I can carry you to bed?”

“I can walk myself,” Ignis said, resolution in his tone as he began to stand, and Gladio paused for a second, uncertain if he should continue in the face of Ignis not wanting to be treated as if he was incapable of caring for himself.

“No, I mean…I dunno, don’t you remember when I swooped you up in my arms on your birthday? I was seventeen, and you’d just turned sixteen,” Gladio said, his voice somewhat embarrassed at the mention of how carefree their lives had been back then. Ignis stilled, settling himself down on the seat with an unreadable emotion in his expression. “Everyone had gone home, and you refused to leave everything a mess, so…”

“…you picked me up and made love to me all evening,” Ignis finished simply as a soft smile started on his lips, the memory warming his features. “I would never forget our first time. You were awful with a condom and we gave up on it because it’s not like we needed to worry anyway.”

“…you could’ve left the condom part out,” Gladio said, his tone playfully grumpy. “Now are you gonna let me pick you up or what?”

“Just this once,” Ignis permitted, the smile on his face making the stiffness of his words clearly not serious. Gladio huffed out a soft laugh before he looped an arm under Ignis’ legs and back, hoisting him up in his arms and kissing his forehead with an obnoxious noisiness, causing Ignis to exhale a disgruntled breath. “If we manage to finish all of this without me killing you somehow in the process.”

“Point taken,” Gladio acknowledged, and he made sure Ignis’ slender, tall form was secure in his arms before he began to tote him off to his bedroom, the wooden floor warm underneath his feet. Once they approached the door, Ignis felt out the doorknob to help, and he opened it up and pushed it inward. “Thanks, Iggy.”

“…the least I could do,” Ignis joked, and Gladio paused to kiss him for a lingering moment, unable to resist how cute he was. Stepping into the bedroom, Gladio navigated inside carefully, not wanting to knock Ignis against anything, and he let the door shut behind them before he moved. The approach to the bed was short, all of the bedrooms in the apartment tiny, and as he settled Ignis down and moved to lean over him he felt him feeling out the material of his shirt in an effort to determine how to take it off. He did the same for Ignis, undoing each button of his shirt slowly as he pressed his nose into Ignis’ neck, tasting his pulse with soft kisses and bites, making Ignis moan and arch his back off of the mess of his bedding.

“…like that, huh?” Gladio asked huskily, the sound of his voice a warm purr in Ignis’ ear. Ignis gripped at his shirt in answer, pushing the material of the bottom of his t-shirt up his belly and chest, pressing his palms up the expanse of his warm skin.

“...for someone who’s unclothed most of the time, you’ve certainly made this difficult,” Ignis teased breathlessly, and Gladio allowed him to peel his shirt up and over his head in answer, allowing the material to fall in a puddle on the blankets. “Gods, Gladio…” he breathed, and Gladio watched him as he shut his eyes in an effort to hide away how he looked, his hands pressing up the length of Gladio’s body in a clearly interested way.

Gladio pressed loving, tender kisses down Ignis’ collarbone, leaning up to press their lips together after a moment so that he could taste him more thoroughly. Ignis worked to undo both his and Gladio’s belts, his craving for the feeling of their naked skin together obvious. Underwear and pants went down easily, pooled together onto the floor, and Gladio growled a soft moan as he felt how hard Ignis' cock was against his erection as he laid himself over him. “Gods, you’re beautiful,” Gladio murmured reverently as he took Ignis' hands into his own, pinning them up over his head so that Ignis couldn't move. “So perfect, smart…”

Ignis gave a soft moan of approval before he rolled their hips together, grinding the length of the undersides of their cocks shamelessly. He was flushed and gorgeous in the dim light of the room, his dirty blonde hair an ungelled mess and his delicate lashes against his pale skin, the warmth of the room leaving dampness to gather between them. Pleasure rocketed its way through Gladio’s senses, the rhythm of their grinding just right, precum slick between their cocks as they moved with an intentional slowness.

“You like how that feels, babe? Just grinding your gorgeous cock on mines like you've never cum before…?” Gladio trailed off, the insistence of Ignis’ body language increasing with the dirty talk. As much as Gladio hadn’t talked much when they were younger, it seemed like a necessity at this point, and Ignis was getting off to every word, his body trembling and his chest heaving as his nipples hardened with arousal.

“...Gladio...that’s so good, please…” Ignis breathed, the fact that he was pinned down both incredibly exciting and an annoyance at the same time. Gladio eased up his hold and tugged the loose edge of Ignis’ striped dress shirt from under his lower back, pulling it up his head and over his arms, discarding it to the side of the bed.

“...please what? What do you want, honeycomb?” Gladio murmured fondly, stroking his fingers over Ignis’ hair and pecking a kiss to his lips.

“Will you...inside of me?” Ignis asked, a visible swallow making the muscles of his neck work. Gladio hummed in gentle assent as he kissed his cheek, and he leaned over and reached a hand for his bedside table, opening a drawer and pulling out a tube of sparingly used lubricant.

Taking a painstakingly long while to prepare Ignis, even against his desperate pleas and the way he rocked against his fingers, Gladio felt as if he might be going insane as he sank a third finger in to the knuckle. Knowing Ignis’ body had its perks, from where he was the most sensitive inside to the rhythm he liked just right, but Gladio was pretty sure that he was getting jealous of the fact that his own fingers were getting more action than him. He was almost thankful when Ignis finally put a hand to his wrist to stop him, his fingers shaking. “Iggy...you sure you’re ready?”

Ignis huffed a breath that was a mixture of pleasure and fond impatience. “...I think if you keep going, I’m going to ejaculate all over your face like a fountain, and the last bloody thing we need is someone else going blind.”

There was a beat of silence, and Gladio began to laugh softly, Ignis joining in after second as a soft smile crossed his expression, their shared amusement lasting for several moments. “...got it,” Gladio agreed, and he reached back over to the drawer, snagging a condom. “I think you’re going to be proud of me this time.”

“You mean, you know how to put a rubber on now?” Ignis teased. “I thought we’d gotten over that ages ago.”

“Well, I was thinking you could be proud of me _again_ ,” Gladio shot back, as he ripped the package open, pulling out the lubricated condom and squeezing the tip before sliding it onto the thickness of his erection. “You ready to rock and roll, sweetie?”

“Like I said, I may turn into a water sprinkler, and neither of us will probably appreciate that,” Ignis repeated, and he reached out for Gladio, drawing him in and wrapping his legs around his hips. His body language was so familiar, so much like _home_ that he couldn’t believe it, and before he knew it Ignis had grasped his cock and pressed him deep into himself with near to no effort.

Gladio uttered a soft grunt of surprise and pleasure as Ignis took charge, his shaft enveloped in his tight, desperate heat, and as he moved himself up and down Gladio’s cock he watched him, entranced by the raw pleasure in his expression and the sounds of his gasping moans as he rode him. Allowing himself to enjoy it for a few more moments, Gladio then grasped Ignis’ hips, grinding him up and down his cock with an upward motion, insistent on hitting his prostate with every movement. “...babe, so fucking tight…” Gladio moaned indulgently, moving a hand to Ignis’ cock and stroking him in time with his thrusts, the squeaks of the bed accompanying them. Ignis lowered his hand to the sheets, gripping them in an effort to ground himself, every motion causing him to moan and squeeze around Gladio, the sight and sound of him still as incredibly arousing and attractive as it had been when they had first gotten together.

“...Gladio, I’m...I’m going to cum,” Ignis said in hushed warning, the tension building up in his posturing as initial contractions wracked his body, leaving Gladio to drive his cock harder into him. Ignis reached down and grasped Gladio’s hand upon his hip tightly as he arched his back off of the sheets, a cry escaping him as he spilled ejaculate all over his belly and Gladio’s fingers, his body shaking with the intensity of the sensation as he contracted rhythmically around the thickness of Gladio’s cock. Gladio wasn’t too far behind, the pure stimulation and the fact that he was giving Ignis so much pleasure tipping him over the edge, and he growled out a husky, desperate moan as he came in warm, copious spurts.

Coming down from their mutual highs was a slow process, reality barely feeling like it was touching either of them, and Gladio discarded the condom before he settled into the warm bedding with a relaxed sigh, bundling Ignis up into his arms. Gladio felt himself nod off for a short while, Ignis' warm, comforting scent almost immediately drawing him down into slumber, and when he woke up, the fact that he couldn't tell how long he'd been out was disorienting. Ignis had apparently done the same, his eyes shut as Gladio woke, but he stirred as he felt him begin to wake up. “...mmm, we really need to do that more often,” Gladio complimented in a sleepy rumble, leaning close and kissing Ignis’ cheek.

“...agreed,” Ignis admitted in a quiet tone, a soft smile starting on his face as he nestled himself up against Gladio securely. “I...apologize, for not initiating it.”

“...no, I get it,” Gladio murmured, as he stroked Ignis’ hair gently. “I miss him too. You don’t ever need to feel bad about it.”

Ignis was silent for a long moment, and he swallowed hard against the tears that Gladio could see welling up in his eyes, his smile trembling a bit. “...it was my fault, I could have chosen…”

Gladio pressed a soft kiss to Ignis lips to quiet him, resting their foreheads together for a long moment as he shut his eyes. “...no - it’s okay, Iggy,” he soothed, and Ignis exhaled a shivering breath.

“...I’m far from forgiving myself, but...thank you. I love you, as I always have, I just couldn’t bear it,” Ignis admitted, his silent plea for forgiveness from Gladio at the very least hidden in his words.

“...I love you too, babe,” Gladio said softly, rubbing his hand up and down Ignis’ back. “It isn’t your fault. All we can do...is hope for now, and you can keep making those tarts - pretty sure Noct will come knocking for them someday.”

“...perhaps,” Ignis said, and as Gladio squeezed him close and closed his eyes he could feel the thoughts running through his head, the cogs turning as they always did. All Gladio could do was hold him to somehow keep his balance, the storm of uncertainty surrounding them as the darkness closed in with a deep sense of lethal claustrophobia. 

Gladio knew one thing for sure, though - he would hold Ignis, as well as Iris and Prompto, close to himself no matter what challenges they would have to face. He wouldn’t let him go for anything in the world, even if he could never guarantee that he wouldn't let them down sometimes - he had learned that lesson from Noctis, and it continued to burn a hole inside of him. They didn’t have a choice but to move forward, whether the world tried to hold them back or not, and Gladio refused to let the darkness take them over.


End file.
